What:
Steward ownership is an alternative corporate ownership model built, centred on two core principles: self-determination and purpose orientation.
Self-determination means that individuals committed to the company’s long-term mission steer the company. The company cannot become an object of speculation, and its control is not for sale. Investors provide capital as partners but do not acquire control over the business, preventing financial ownership from dictating decision-making. Similarly, an asset lock ensures that profits cannot be privately extracted in the same way as under conventional shareholder models, but must instead be reinvested or used to further the company’s purpose.
Corporate purpose has several definitions, but one that has grown in prominence comes from management scholar Professor Colin Mayer, who defines the purpose of business as, ‘producing profitable solutions to the problems of people and planet, and not profiting from producing problems.’ In this way, purpose forms the wider reason for a business’s existence. This purpose is served by the pursuit of profit, but profit does not supersede it.
In the context of steward ownership, purpose orientation means that profit is treated as a way to support the company’s purpose, rather than as an end in itself. Owners act as stewards, safeguarding the organisation’s purpose, while profits are primarily reinvested to create long-term value. These principles are legally embedded within the company’s structure, making them permanent and difficult to alter.
How these principles are embedded may differ across different business types, relating to their size and sector, and the legal and governance systems they are subject to. However, all models require legally binding arrangements that embed these principles into the company’s governance. Steward-owned companies are often associated with greater innovation and long-term resilience due to their focus on enduring purpose rather than short-term financial returns.
Example:
Although not a deep-tech venture, Vyld is a business that demonstrates how steward ownership principles can be applied within a science-based, technology-oriented context. Vyld is a circular economy business that produces sustainable period products from seaweed and operates through a stewardship model. Control of the business is separated from its financial interest, which means its environmental purpose remains central to its business activity.
Considerations for deep tech:
- As a model, stewardship is geared towards longstanding company ambitions and ensuring that the organisation’s purpose, rather than short-term financial goals, guides decision-making. This could align with the operating features of a deep tech venture, particularly the timescales required to undertake scientific research and translate these into commercial outputs.
- Potentially, decision-making processes would be protected from the pressures of rapid financial returns, which could also align with requirements of a deep tech venture.
- For deep tech ventures seeking to translate scientific discoveries into societal applications, steward ownership could be a useful model. Steward ownership centres on conserving the purpose of the company. This means protecting it from acquisition by larger firms that may treat the company as a purely financial asset. This could protect the original focus of the venture, ensuring its outcomes remain focused on the original purpose rather than narrower commercial goals.
More Information:
Manelli, L., Pek, S. and Hatchuel, A. et al. (2025) ‘Beyond Ownership As Usual: The Implications of Steward-Ownership For Management Research’, Journal of Management Inquiry, 35(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926251357812
Purpose Foundation (n.d.) What’s steward ownership? Available at: https://purpose-economy.org/en/whats-steward-ownership/ (Accessed: 15 July 2026).
Purpose Foundation. (2023). Steward-ownership: Because ownership matters. Purpose Foundation. https://purpose-economy.org/content/uploads/purposebooklet_en.pdf
Reiff, M. (2024) ‘Steward Ownership, Sustainability, and Capitalism: Part 1’, Oxford Business Law Blog, 2 August. Available at: